Things have finally quietened down after the unimaginably busy launch of Pacific Fleet. I've finally found time to wrest myself away from marketing activities to work on the next release.

Here's whats in v1.02 which is currently in testing. Essentially all of these are based on feedback from players; some direct and some from reviews on iTunes. If all goes well I expect to submit it to Apple in the next few days.

Update should be compatible with existing saved games.

v1.02
- sliders no longer pan camera
- player aircraft can fly to horizon to attack distant ships
- Shot history now shows actual 2D location of hits relative to player ship (no longer snapped to the aiming line which didn't account for changes in distance when shooting into the wind)
- Difficulty options - turns/battle: 6, 8, 10, 100
- Difficulty options - starting renown: 0, 1000, 25000
- Difficulty options - RADAR accuracy: estimate, enhanced, exact
- Torpedo ammo: 6 for subs, 5 for destroyers
- Depth charge attacks removed (since the outcome was always defeat)
- Escorts now close in and use gunfire to force submarine to surface, once surfaced all ships can engage.
- Regular surface ships now fire/launch aircraft at a very close submerged submarine (they can now spot the periscope)

Unchanged:
- Wind Meter: several players mentioned there is no way to determine wind speed/direction. Examining the ocean wave's direction and speed is the wind meter (contact developer if this is insufficient).

Difficulty options are entirely... optional and the default settings are as per the original release (read as HARD). Many players expressed a desire for longer battles while others found the game a little too difficult so you'll now be free to tweak the game to your play style.

v1.02 Submitted (expect it to be available mid-late next week)
Thanks to the many players who provided feedback and discussion on how to improve the game.
Here's the final list of major changes in v1.02:

v1.03 has just been submitted to iTunes. It is a quick update focused on addressing a few "disengage" issues with islands as well as improving performance on lower-end hardware. We can expect it to be available in about a week and a half.

Here's what's in it:
- Islands with all structures/aircraft destroyed no longer launch aircraft
- Player ship may immediately disengage an island that has had all structures/aircraft destroyed
- Improved memory management on lower-end devices
- Fixed a bug in Zone 37 that caused shells to be randomly inaccurate

We have big plans for Pacific Fleet over the next months and have been busy adding new features and improvements to the game.

v1.04 In Development: Full Navigation and Guns on Target
Screenshot shows Iowa closing in on enemy convoy. Ships no longer have simple parallel courses and can navigate at various speed
(Back, Stop, 1/3, 2/3, Standard, Full and Flank) in any direction.

Note the Iowa's 2 forward turrets are on target while the rear is not, which means this attack will do only 2/3 damage if it hits.
Also note the new bow waves, new ocean graphics and horizon fog which will all be coming in v1.04.

Full navigation opens up many new tactical features with the ability to maneuver your ship so as to bring all guns
onto your target while trying to avoid the enemy's broadsides.

v1.0x Update: New Ship Graphics
Shown is the new graphics for the auxiliary transport Heito Maru.
For v1.04 we plan to have at least all Japanese ship graphics upgraded.
US ships might be ready too, or may be pushed into v1.05.

We think you'll agree that this is a major step up from the current graphics and you can expect a similar level of detail on warships.

v1.04 Update: Improved Carrier Ops
With v1.04 we plan to also include a major overhaul of carrier air operations.
When playing with full navigation, aircraft will be able to attack from any point on the map and in any direction,
giving you full control of attack runs.

In this screenshot a torpedo bomber is about to finish an attack run against a Kongo Class Battleship.
Note that the torpedo bomber has approached from the side unprotected by the destroyer escorts and is actually
attacking back in the direction towards the Essex Class Carrier that launched it.

In addition, heavily damaged carriers will no longer be able to launch aircraft. Likewise, burning carriers cannot
launch until fires are extinguished. We're also considering adding a "Flight Preparation" action whereby a flight
must be armed on the flight deck prior to launching in a subsequent action. Damage to a carrier while aircraft are
on the flight deck will be greatly increased.

We've been asked, "Is it possible to play as the Japanese? Will that be in a future update if not?"

No, currently you cannot play as the Imperial Japanese Navy.

But YES, we plan to add playable IJN ships very soon. Adding back the IJN ships will allow us to return flags and clearly identify the nationalities of vessels; which we feel is kind of important for a historically based simulation.

Playable IJN ships *might* be included as part of v1.04, but it is not definite yet.

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